Maren Speller “ No more Arabic spelling mistakes! Most of the Arabic content has a high rate of spelling mistakes. Around 95% of these mistakes are common Arabic mistakes like confusion between the different types of “Hamza” and the “Haa” and “Taa marboota”. Other mistakes include collated words...

Back in may I mentioned the Kinect for Windows Language Packs , well looks they have been updated to version V11.0 overnight * “Kinect for Windows language packs are add-ins for the Kinect for Windows Runtime that enable speech recognition for the way a language is spoken in different locales.” available...

As part of my role in Microsoft I have some responsibilities and discussion with our teams in India, and just read this really interesting article by Shilpa Kannan from the BBC. Is language the key to hooking India on the web? In it she raises some really interesting facts and insights.. “With over 30...

I have briefly mentioned in the past Kinect for Windows , well now with the release of Kinect for Windows 1.5 there are some additional language packs that you can download that “…are add-ins for the Kinect for Windows Runtime that enable speech recognition for the way a language is spoken in different...

Really useful app if you are looking for some English to Chinese translations Bing dictionary app “Bing Dictionary Windows Phone version is published by Microsoft. It supports Local/Online dictionary look up, particularly nice features like Smart Index, Search Suggestions and more. • Local/Online dictionary...

ripped from Palle’s post on the Microsoft language Portal Blog “If you speak any of the 25 languages on the list below, the Windows localization team is looking for your feedback on the terminology used in Windows. To get started, click your language below and sign in with your Windows Live ID: Once...

In my last blog I mentioned…. “… and if you are on Twitter you can follow @MicrosoftHelps which provides English language support via Twitter.” Well since then I have been pointed to the fact that we have the equivalent support in other languages including: French = @MSVousAide German = @MicrosoftHilft...

Just been sent news of these 2 new videos about how the Local Language Program is supporting the Maori language in a Hamilton school in New Zealand and how language packs of Windows and Office are helping students in Vietnamese schools.
Go to the Microsoft Unlimited site and within the language program...

This is a really interesting case study about how Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw School in Wales sees the benefits of the Welsh Interface packs for Windows and Office Welsh Interface Supports Language Immersion at Secondary School “ Although the Welsh language is an integral part of Wales’s national identity,...

So in no way as funny as the US sign writers who couldn’t spell school comes this tale of some poor chap confusing his Cotswolds with his Cotwsolds. BBC News - Spelling mistake on new road sign for Cotswold Airport “ Nick Howard, manager at the airport, said: "The sign had been up for a couple of...

I briefly mentioned Engkoo a while back and just now spotted some additional info about it on Microsoft PressPass including a nice Silverlight demo to watch. “ Teach someone a word and help them once. But teach a search engine linguistics, and it can help people learn an entire language ” “ According...

Rather embarrassing… BBC News - US school road marking spelled wrongly “Workers have misspelled the word school on a road approaching a high school in North Carolina in the US. Crews painted "shcool" on the approach road to Southern Guilford High School. The road had been recently repaved and...

Really interesting read from the BBC BBC News - How the internet is changing language "Language itself changes slowly but the internet has speeded up the process of those changes so you notice them more quickly." People using word play to form groups and impress their peers is a fairly traditional...

Over the last few days i have spotted a number of links related to Microsoft and languages: Why Microsoft localizes software for Norwegian Nynorsk – nice video from the Microsoft Language Portal Blog. “ Norwegian is not just Norwegian. There's two of them: Norwegian Bokmål (literally: "book...

Pretty powerful statement that. “ It is estimated that every 14 days a language dies ” Which is why I am really proud of what Microsoft is doing with our Local language program (LLP). Read the full press release below. More Than 1 Billion Speakers of Endangered Languages Get Access to Technology...

Especially if you are the GM for the mint of your country and you misspelt said countries name on your coins. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8511910.stm “The general manager of the Chilean mint has been dismissed after thousands of coins were issued with the name of the country spelt wrongly .”...

No doubt this confused a few locals up in Birmingham… “ The machine gives instructions in English until the multi-storey Brunel Street car park becomes full - then it switches to German ” and the hand written note on the back of some brown paper is great… http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands...

I do like a good story about language be that written or spoken goes a little awry. So new of a dog that could only listen in Polish brought a smile to my face. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/8458184.stm “A dog caused confusion in an animal home when he failed to respond...

Just wanted to point out this great new language tool from Microsoft India - Microsoft Indic Language Input Tool “Microsoft Indic Language Input Tool helps you enter Indian language text easily into any application in Microsoft Windows or on any page on the Web. The primary input mechanism is transliteration...

Following the general distribution release of Windows 7, we made the Windows 7 terminology and UI strings available for 35 languages on the Microsoft Language Portal . This allows any user of Microsoft products to search and discover Windows 7 terms and software translations. Simply enter the English...

Whilst in bed this morning this subject was brought up on Radio 2 and thought I would share here as I thought it was quite humorous “Nearly half of Americans surveyed for a new poll said that "whatever" was the most annoying word that could be used in conversation. The poll by the Marist...

Combining 2 of my interests of language and Twitter comes the news that the words Twitter, Twitterati and Twitterverse will be added to the next edition of the Collins English Dictionary (30th edition) The entry under noun will read: "a website where people can post short messages about their...